A compelling new roguelike action game was unveiled at BitSummit, the global indie game festival held in Kyoto, Japan. The title in question is 'CRYMELIGHT,' developed by FURYU Corporation and published in Asia by Clouded Leopard Entertainment.

'CRYMELIGHT' is the third and latest installment in the 'Cry' series, known for its 'dark pretty girl action' and a gloomy, dreamlike world where girls fight through their tears. It is scheduled for a simultaneous global release on November 5, 2026, for Steam, Switch 2, and PS5. While it follows the previous titles 'Crystar' and 'Crymachina,' the story is independent, allowing new players to enjoy it fully without having played the predecessors.

The story begins with the protagonist, a girl named 'Alice,' waking up with amnesia in 'Wonderland,' a prison in the afterlife. To return to her original world, Alice joins a harsh death game where she must cooperate with unique participants, such as the mysterious girl 'Mary,' and defeat the 'Queen of Hearts' according to the rules. In this process, Alice faces the sorrowful 'sins' her companions committed while alive, leading to profound personal growth.

INVEN met with Producer Isobe, who is leading the project, at the BitSummit venue to discuss 'CRYMELIGHT.'

Q. Could you provide a brief introduction to 'CRYMELIGHT'.

"'CRYMELIGHT' is the latest entry in our 'Cry' series, which FURYU has been presenting to depict stories of "cute girls fighting while shedding tears." As it is an independent title with no narrative or world-building ties to previous works, those new to the series can enjoy it naturally, just like the first game.

The protagonist, 'Alice,' awakens in an afterlife known as 'Wonderland,' where she faces the harsh trial of having to defeat the 'Queen of Hearts' who rules the realm to earn her freedom. Throughout her journey, she encounters various girls and uncovers the sins they committed in their past lives, allowing players to experience a narrative centered on how these characters reconcile with their sins to move toward the future.

Q. Unlike your previous titles, you have adopted a top-down 'roguelike' genre for this game.

"Yes, that is correct. This work is a top-down roguelike action game where you must start from the beginning if you die during play. However, this system of "having to repeat and overcome challenges multiple times" actually serves as a very important plot device within the story. Once you play to the end, you will likely have an 'aha!' moment realizing why we chose the roguelike genre.

While typical roguelike games take about 5 hours to clear, we expect the main scenario alone in this game to reach about 20 hours of playtime. Since our 'Cry' series is highly regarded for its scenarios, we could not cut back on the deep story, so we significantly increased the overall volume.

Q. The 2D-based visual art and dreamlike design are very striking.

"We unified all in-game elements, including backgrounds, maps, and characters, in 2D. We strove to maintain a high-quality visual composition that feels both fantastic and like a piece of art. The character design was handled by illustrator YOGISYA, and I am very happy that so many people have praised the designs as beautiful.

Q. What unique combat systems stand out in the action gameplay?

"To bring out the charm of the roguelike genre, we introduced a unique 'Poker System.' While you typically just choose one of the randomly presented skills, in this title, the skills you acquire are likened to playing cards. If you complete a poker 'hand' with the five cards you have collected, the effect of the skills becomes dramatically more powerful as the difficulty of achieving that hand increases.

Additionally, when you defeat enemies during combat, a purple 'Wonder Dimension' space unfolds at your feet. As this space expands, you can experience exhilarating combat where the character's speed and stats increase.

For reference, the only playable character is Alice. However, we designed it so that you can switch between three types of weapons to suit the situation, allowing players to enjoy changing their combat style according to their preferences.

Q. The atmosphere at the BitSummit booth is very heated. What are the reactions and feedback from users who participated in the demo?

"I am very grateful that the demo tickets were fully distributed in just one hour, showing great popularity. I saw users who, after being defeated by a boss during the demo, were genuinely frustrated and asked, "Ah! Please let me try just one more time!" I am glad that the core cycle of our game, which keeps players immersed, was well-conveyed.

We currently operate an official Discord channel and have set up a 'suggestion box' to receive user opinions. Valuable feedback received on-site and online is immediately shared with the development team to be positively integrated into the system, serving as a great driving force for refining the title into something more perfect.

Q. Korean users will be happy to hear that 'Korean language support' has been confirmed. Is there a reason you decided to include Korean from the launch date?

"As we have developed various games, we have deeply felt that many users in the Asian region, especially Korean users, play our games quite a lot. We wanted Korean gamers to be able to immerse themselves in the story from the very first day of release, so we decided to include Korean early on in the initial planning stage of the project.

Q. Could you introduce the development period, scale, and specific future release schedule.

"It has been about two and a half years since I took on the role of producer and started planning this project. The core team leading the development consists of about 20 people. It is scheduled for a simultaneous global release on November 5 of this year via Steam, Switch 2, and PS5. We are currently focusing on finishing touches to improve the completeness of the main game in time for the release date.

Q. Lastly, could you share a word for the Korean gamers who are looking forward to 'CRYMELIGHT'.

"On top of the structural framework of a thoroughly planned roguelike, we have packed in the 'deep and sad stories' that FURYU does best, along with attractive characters and original systems. As it will be fully supported in Korean, I hope you will play it yourself and watch until the end to see what kind of conclusion the sins and tears carried by Alice and her companions reach. We ask for the continued interest and support of our Korean fans.